Characteristics of effective teletherapy for major depression: A systematic review

Evidence of Measurement Invariance in the Working Alliance Inventory Across In-Person and Videoconferencing Psychotherapy

OBJECTIVE

The Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR) is a self-report measure of therapeutic alliance from the patient's perspective. This study aimed to examine the factor structure of the WAI-SR and evaluate its measurement invariance across in-person and videoconferencing psychotherapy sessions.

METHOD

The study sample consisted of 1043 adult patients. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate the WAI-SR dimensions and structure. Measurement invariance was tested using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, multiple indicator multiple causes model analysis, and item bias analysis.

RESULTS

The findings supported a three-factor structure of the WAI-SR, encompassing goal, task, and bond dimensions. Results demonstrated configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance across in-person and videoconferencing formats. The factor structure remained consistent after accounting for patient age and gender. Additionally, no differential item functioning or bias was observed between groups. The WAI-SR exhibited excellent internal consistency and composite reliability.

CONCLUSIONS

The WAI-SR is a reliable and valid tool for assessing therapeutic alliance across both in-person and videoconferencing sessions. The equivalence in measurement properties and mean scores across modalities highlights the adaptability of therapeutic alliance to virtual environments, supporting the broader use of telehealth in psychotherapy.

Emergence of Artificial Intelligence Art Therapies (AIATs) in Mental Health Care: A Systematic Review

The application of artificial intelligence art therapies (AIATs) in mental health care represents an innovative merger between digital technology and the therapeutic potential of creative arts. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and ethical considerations of AIATs, incorporating robots, AI painting and AI Chatbots to augment traditional art therapies. Aligning with the Preferred Reporting Items for systematic reviews (PRISMA) guidelines, we meticulously searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and CNKI, resulting in 15 selected articles for detailed analysis. To ensure methodological quality, we applied the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) criteria for quality assessment and extracted data using the PICO(S) format, specifically targeting randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Our findings suggest that AIATs can profoundly enhance the therapeutic experience by providing new creative outlets and reinforcing existing methods, despite possible drawbacks and ethical challenges. This examination underscores AIATs' potential to enrich mental health therapies, emphasising the critical importance of ethical considerations and the responsible application of AI as the field evolves. With a focus on expanding treatment efficacy and patient expressiveness, the promise of AIATs in mental health care necessitates a careful balance between innovation and ethical responsibility. Trial Registration: PROSPERO: CRD42024504472.

Online psychotherapy as a first clinical experience during the Covid-19 pandemic: A new generation of psychotherapists in the digital age

The temporary closure of the Outpatient Psychotherapy Clinic at the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna during the Covid-19 pandemic demanded an immediate and unexpected reaction to assure further psychotherapeutic services. Both psychotherapists and patients were forced into a rapid transition to online psychotherapy. While Covid-19 research has comprehensively described challenges of online psychotherapies, we were interested in learning specifically how early stage psychotherapists-in-training, who started their clinical work with patients exclusively in the online setting, experienced this unprecedented clinical situation. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with psychotherapists in training. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The analysis revealed how psychotherapists in training were able to cultivate a set of early-training resources and competencies in the online therapy setting without evidence-based guidelines from supervisors and the institution. This study highlighted the necessity of incorporating specific and novel educational input that is necessary for achieving specific online skills in the early training phase. Recognizing that the therapeutic landscape has undergone an irreversible transformation, the data suggest that distinct techniques are necessary to equip early-training psychotherapists for the now commonly practiced alternation between online setting and in-person setting in psychotherapeutic processes.